Blog: Smaller Doesn’t Mean Cheaper

“In an effort to spur discussion about desperately needed
upgrades to California’s water supply delivery system, some
water districts in California along with Natural Resources
Defense Council have urged the study of a tunnel delivery
system in the Delta that is a third of the size of the emerging
proposal. The basic idea was to spend less on new conveyance
and more on replacing lost Delta supplies with new local water
sources and additional storage facilities.

“While BDCP’s environmental analysis process is not yet
complete, the Department of Water Resources has conducted
extensive economic and water modeling analysis of a potentially
smaller water conveyance fix and habitat restoration for the
Delta than proposed by BDCP. The findings point to some
fundamentals of engineering and math. A tunnel that is a third
of the size is in no way a third of the construction
cost. Constraining the future water system reduces public
water supplies. It increases reliance on 50-year old pumping
facilities in the southern Delta that are of concern to the
environmental organizations themselves. And it doesn’t free up
nearly the necessary funds to replace the lost water supplies.”